Clothes, towels, sheets and so on, thought of as one pile that has to do with washing. The same word covers three moments in the pile's life: the dirty clothes waiting to be washed, the clothes going round inside the machine right now, and the clean wet clothes you have just taken out.

Clothes, towels, sheets and so on衣服、毛巾、床單等等, thought of as one pile that has to do with washing被當成跟洗滌有關的一整堆東西。The same word covers three moments in the pile's life同一個字涵蓋了這堆衣物生命裡的三個時刻:the dirty clothes waiting to be washed等著要洗的髒衣服, the clothes going round inside the machine right now現在正在洗衣機裡轉的衣服, and the clean wet clothes you have just taken out以及你剛拿出來、洗好的濕衣服。

You tell which one is meant from the rest of the sentence — "the washing is piling up" is dirty, "the washing is still going" is in the machine, "hang out the washing" is clean and wet. It is uncountable: one sock is not "a washing", and there is no plural "washings" in this everyday use.

You tell which one is meant from the rest of the sentence你要從句子的其他部分判斷指的是哪一個——"the washing is piling up" is dirty「the washing is piling up」是髒的那種, "the washing is still going" is in the machine「the washing is still going」是在洗衣機裡的那種, "hang out the washing" is clean and wet「hang out the washing」是洗好、還濕的那種。It is uncountable它是不可數的:one sock is not "a washing"一隻襪子不會被說成「a washing」, and there is no plural "washings" in this everyday use而且在這個日常用法裡沒有複數「washings」。

The word is British, Australian and New Zealand English above all; in the United States people usually say the laundry for the same pile. Note that British speakers use both — laundry is a slightly more neutral or written word, washing is the homey one.

The word is British, Australian and New Zealand English above all這個詞主要是英式、澳洲、和紐西蘭英語;in the United States people usually say the laundry for the same pile在美國，人們對同一堆衣物通常會說the laundry。Note that British speakers use both要注意，英式使用者兩個都會用:laundry is a slightly more neutral or written word, washing is the homey one laundry是比較中性、書面一點的詞，washing則是比較家常的說法。

It is a completely ordinary word, not formal at all, and it lives in a small family of set phrases: do the washing (wash the clothes), hang out / hang up the washing, bring in the washing, a load of washing, the washing machine, washing powder, washing line, washing-up (which, careful, is dishes, not clothes). One more thing: washing is also just the -ing form of the verb wash, so "washing the car" and "the washing is dry" are two different grammatical animals wearing the same coat.

It is a completely ordinary word, not formal at all這是一個完全普通、一點都不正式的詞, and it lives in a small family of set phrases而且它住在一小組固定用法的家族裡:do the washing (wash the clothes)do the washing（洗衣服）, hang out / hang up the washing把衣物晾出去, bring in the washing把衣物收進來, a load of washing一批要洗的衣物, the washing machine洗衣機, washing powder洗衣粉, washing line曬衣繩, washing-up (which, careful, is dishes, not clothes)washing-up（小心，這是碗盤，不是衣服）。One more thing還有一件事:washing is also just the -ing form of the verb wash washing也就只是動詞wash的-ing形式, so "washing the car" and "the washing is dry" are two different grammatical animals wearing the same coat所以「washing the car」和「the washing is dry」是穿著同一件外衣、卻是兩種不同文法動物。